Broughton Poggs & Filkins

Oxfordshire

Visually one village, certainly neither myself or my
friend noticed where one finished and the other began!
Interestingly enough they are one parish now. However it was not
always so as the two places are seperated by the Broadwell Brook
and Filkins never had its own church until the nineteenth
century, being part of the parish of Broadwell.

St Peter's Church, BROUGHTON POGGS

Well this church takes some finding, standing as it
does beyond a farmyard and reached by a lane and a stile. We
wandered around for some 20 minutes without spotting it (or
seeing anyone to ask!) in the leafy grounds in front of Broughton
Hall and the walled lanes that conect the houses and their
gardens.

The church is of considerable antiquity, and consists
of an odd low west tower, nave with a north porch and chancel.
The nave is the oldest part, Norman work with original north and
south doorways (with a tympanum each), one small north window and
chancel arch barely 9 feet tall (2.5metres). Other larger later
windows have been inserted to varied designs.

The tower is later, transitional work, with a
three-stepped pointed internal arch and a west lancet. The upper
stage is 19th Century but seems to incorporate ancient two-light
openings on the west face. The hipped roof and ?chimney adds to
its odd appearance.

The chancel too is a later addition, and is Early
English work of the 13th Century. The east windows are large twin
splayed lancets embellished by connected hood-moulding. A view of
the altar from the nave is also possible through the two squints
(or hagioscopes) which flank the chancel arch.

The font too is Norman with a completely plain tub on
a panelled base.

There is not too much else to note inside, but this
pretty 18th Century memorial on the north wall of the nave caught
my eye.

St Peter, FILKINS

There is no missing the church at Filkins as it stands
alongside the main road through the village, although it is at
the southern end of the village and well away from the Hall at
the northern end of the village.

The church was built to the designs of George Edmund
Street 1855-7. Plans had been drawn up earlier in 1851 by the
local squire but Street, the diocesan architect, was asked to
comment on them, and comment he did aplenty! He said he disliked
the fact that there was no architect's name on the plans, the
roof was too wide and poorly supported, there were no gutters,
the vestry had a flat roof and the openings for the proposed bell
were too small. The spaces between the pews were too little and
he felt the people would be unable to kneel. For the same money
such a wide church could be replaced by a nave and aisle for much
the same money. Street therefore had to produce a plan of
quality, if he was to avoid the same sort of examination and
comparism to the original plans! He did.

St Peter's consists of a nave with west bellcote,
small south porch, north aisle and an apsidal chancel with north
vestry.

Both the exterior from the east and the interior view
to the altar shows the unusual grouping of the three apse
windows, close together rather than evenly spaced as was more
usual. The ceiling of the chancel is decorated with stars.

The view to the west end is more typical of churches
of the time, and nothing special although the good proportions
and roofs are to be seen.

page corrected 5th August
2001

(Thanks to Judith Harper of Nelson, New
Zealand for pointing out the complete gobbledy-gook that had been
on this page as an introduction to Filkins church in the first
version!)